4th Red Bull Romaniacs 2007 - Day 3 - Dirt Rider Magazine

INDIANA JONES & THE ROMANIAN ERZBERG
Day 3: 4th Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rally, 17 - 21 June 2007At some points on today's track the riders felt like they were in an Indiana Jones movie and simply could not believe their eyes: incredibly steep climbs, 60 descents and Erzberg-like rock sections. Everything an enduro rider dreams of - though, nobody was too sad when they reached the finish! The stage victory went to Chris Birch (NZL), Cyril Despres (FRA) finished second with US rider Kyle Redmond third. Leader in the overall standings: Cyril Despres.Yesterday he finished 15th, today Chris Birch from New Zealand won the stage in the professional class. After his nine and a half hours ride on Monday, he did not want to spend more time than necessary on the track and got back home first after 03h14. Cyril Despres (FRA) finished right after him (03h15) in second with the youngest rider in the pro class, Kyle Redmond (19) from the US, proving his talent to come in third (at 03h18).183km for the pros, 153km for the experts and 118km for the hobby riders - everybody's day began with a steep climb from the Schanta Valley just outside the city. Even Dakar winner Cyril Despres had to ask for the "right" way. The second off road stage was very technical and the professionals and experts had to deal with a short but challenging Erzberg Rodeo style section called `Emil rocks' right next to a river. Only a handful of riders were able to pass without difficulty, with some of the team riders taking a short bath in the cool water! Many needed the help of their team mates and the marshals to make it through.On the second half of the stage the riders reached an altitude of 2.000 meters in the Fagaras Mountains and entered a 300 year old forest with an extreme down hill - hundreds of meters long and almost 60 steep - where it was impossible for the riders to stay on the bikes. As suggested by the organiser, the Austrian former Snowboard pro Martin Freinademetz, the day before, the participants walked their bikes down. Coming to an idyllic waterfall it was again time to get off the bikes and have them roped to the other side - the scenario could have been taken directly from an "Indiana Jones" movie. A balancing act over a see-saw was today's last spectacular point.Results Day 3, 19 June 2007****Professionals
1. Chris Birch NZL 03h14
2. Cyril Despres FRA 03h15
3. Kyle Redmond USA 03h18
4. Gerhard Forster GER 03h19
5. Michel Gau FRA 03h22Overall Standings****Professionals
1. Cyril Despres FRA 08h55
2. Michel Gau FRA 08h55
3. Gerhard Forster GER 09h02
4. Alex Antor AND 09h06
5. Kyle Redmond USA 09h16Statements of Day 3
4th Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rally, 17 - 21 June 2007Chris Birch, NZL, Winner of Stage 2
"I am extremely stoked that I was faster than Cyril Despres! He is kind of my idol and I have his poster at home. Great! I did not have any problems today, not even with the navigation."Cyril Despres & Michel Gau (both FRA), 2nd and 5th place
"I caught Alex Antor ten minutes after the start and in a difficult section I caught Michel Gau and we rode together for quite some time until there were five of us. There was one descent today, must have been 60 or so. It was absolutely impossible to stay on the bike and it took us about 15 minutes. Crazy! Another speciality was at the last river, where the bikes were taken by a rope way over the water - we felt like Indiana Jones!"Kyle Redmond, USA, 3rd place
,,It was just a great day today. No big problems - enduro racing just as I like it!"Christian Standfest & Alex Kppl, AUT, Hobby Class
"Today's stage was not as hard as yesterday's. We hope that we passed all checkpoint correctly, but we really enjoy the rallye!"Jrgen Zeiler & Karl Potzl, AUT, Hobby Class
,,The beginning of the race was a catastrophe. Two hours after the start we felt like dying. An inch for an inch we pushed forward. We've done things today we never before even dared to think about."For details and pictures see www.redbullromaniacs.com